Inspiration

Breath taking scenery, beautiful challenging trails subtly carved into the landscape, pristine wilderness on the periphery of welcoming towns and world class resorts, authentic local riding culture ready to share their local knowledge…this is mountain biking in BC!

We want to inspire and help you find a part of BC that truly turns your crank. Through our collection of stories, photos and videos you are sure to find something that you will want to experience for yourself.

This was not our first visit to the illustrious wine country of British Columbia’s South Okanagan with bikes in tow, and we’d learned a few hard lessons last year that paid off in spades on the second attempt. If you read no further, heed only the warning of Puncture Vine and bring plenty of tubes along for the ride.

Although Sun Peaks was an early player to the Bike Park and DH race game back in the late 1990’s, like so many smaller communities it can still be tough to make the most of a weekend of riding without some local knowledge. Consider this a blueprint to maximize riding time, for the ultimate Bike Park weekend.

This week Guestagrammer: Dave Silver. Originally from Toronto and based in Nanaimo, Dave loves the lifestyle and year round riding on an ever evolving network of incredible trails there. You will always find him shooting/riding mountain bikes in the summer and skiing in the winter.

Tearing yourself away from the riding mecca of the Sea-to-Sky is always hard, especially during prime spring conditions. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out for those less acronym savvy) is real. Yet when Mountain Biking BC, a rad tourism organization working hard to promote everything mountain bikes in the province, offers you the chance to explore new riding areas with your friends you don’t just jump, you say “How high?”.

Four guys; Harry, Mark, Taylor and Will make up the Free Radicals. We drag along Max Berkowitz, the 19-year Old video wonder kid and Simon McLaine, photographer and froth-lord, for a 7-day trip through the Thompson-Okanagan to seek out a sample of the region’s best trails, food and drinks.

Meet our first #mtbBC Instagrammer of the week, @margusriga! Not one to document from arms length, photographer, Margus Riga enjoys being in the middle of the action. Whether he is spending days unassisted exploring the backcountry or tirelessly navigating the steep slopes of Red Bull Rampage, his shared experience with the athletes allows for images that communicate an authentic story.

Already mid-summer in a mountain biking season that kicked off in early spring, we’d been patiently waiting for the alpine routes throughout British Columbia to thaw out and dry up for our first hit of high-altitude riding.

When I first got to North Vancouver, I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on, trail-wise.

People I spoke to either scared me away from trails or made things sound so simple that I ended up in over my head. It doesn’t help that YouTube videos make everything look easy, and Pinkbike videos make everything look hard.

After solo trial and error, I finally came to understand North Shore riding and really grew to love it. I’m convinced anyone—not just advanced riders—can ride the Shore and love it. You just need to know how to.

Located 3-4 hours drive north of Pemberton, BC, the South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park, is a trail rider’s nirvana. At 56,796 hectares the park boasts close to 200 km (124 miles) with some of the provinces’ best single-track through broad valleys, and ridgelines with trails meandering through alpine, sub-alpine, meadows, grasslands, and forests.

Hornby Island is home to quality singletrack in a very relaxed and scenic setting. Salt Spring is on the opposite end of the spectrum and although relatively quiet and friendly, it’s the most populated island and has a lot more going on because of this. Both are incredible islands to visit, with very different personalities

With record breaking temperature this spring it’s time to start beating the heat. With snow melting quick and June rolling by before your eyes, your brain must be scheming where to go for the next trip. The Okanagan should be the answer. Not usually the first thought when trying to escape from the heat but when you head to the northern end of the valley and head up the road to Silver Star Mountain Resort you’ll be in for a trip to remember!

If you have siblings, you may understand the feeling of someone close to you hogging all the attention. On the Sea to Sky Corridor Whistler is undoubtedly the center of attention, Squamish turns heads for its new-school flow and the North Shore is renowned for its old-school tech. Pemberton, although well known to many BC locals, remains somewhat under-looked despite its overwhelming opportunities for adventure. All the glamour and glitz of Whistler seemingly distracts us from the epicness found only 20 minutes north.

One of the oldest saloons in British Columbia and by far the oldest in Rossland, the name comes from a steam-powered helicopter plane constructed by Lou Gagnon, an ambitious Gold Rush-era inventor. Built of iron, wood, brass, canvas and piano wire, Gagnon imagined the “Flying Steamshovel” would carry ore down from the steep slopes of nearby Red Mountain. It didn’t. The craft first took flight in February of 1902, leaving the ground and wobbling a few stories skyward before crashing near the very spot we’re currently putting back burgers and beers.

It took me a couple years of badgering to get me up to Williams Lake to ride the first time. My good friend Landon Pinette would spend the winters skiing here in Whistler and return home every summer to work, but more importantly, to ride.

“You’ve got to see our trails, they’re going to blow your mind,” he would always say in the spring as the Whistler slush receded and bikes came out of musty storage.

The recipe for a good party is pretty simple: good people. Any time there’s a group of quality human beings, good times are likely to ensue. When mountain biking is added to that mix, not to mention a week-long road trip through Northern British Columbia, it’s one hell of a party.

The Sunshine Coast is a land where the fusion of forest and ocean inlets forms a synthesis between land and sea. Loggers and fishermen came to this area in the 1870’s and began extracting the glittering fish and towering timbers.

Seb Kemp and the Union Production Co. crew wanted to showcase all the great off-season single track that’s out there in BC, so while the rest of the country was knee deep in snow they rode mountain bikes from Whistler around the Strait of Georgia, stopping to ride in Squamish, the Sunshine Coast, Powell River, Cumberland, Hornby Island, Parksville, Duncan and Saturna Island.

Mountain Biking BC’s 7 Day Giveaway contest sent a winner and one friend on an amazing seven day trip, guided by Endless Biking and supported by BC Bike Ride, through the interior of British Columbia. School teacher Leanne Neighbor of Kamloops BC convinced the judges in 500 words that she should be the one chosen from ten finalists who were randomly selected from over 3000 entries.